60 universities and colleges sanctioned by Home Office

Three universities and 57 private colleges have been told they cannot sponsor any new international students in a major crackdown on suspect English language qualifications.

The news was broken by immigration minister James Brokenshire during a statement to the House of Commons on Tuesday. He said the highly trusted sponsor status of the educational establishments had been suspended following a "detailed and wide-ranging investigation into actions by organised criminals to falsify English language tests for student visa applicants".

Brokenshire said the Home Office had suspended the highly trusted status of Glyndwr University, in north Wales, which enables it to sponsor the visas of non-European Union students.

Glyndwr University in Wales has been informed it cannot sponsor International students to come to the UK and study. The University of West London and Bedfordshire University have had their right to sponsor suspended, along with 57 private further education colleges, including the London School of Business and Finance (LSBF).

Some 230 students sponsored by Glyndwr had been identified as having invalid test results provided by ETS – a figure rising to 350 if questionable scores were counted.